Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene and malondialdehyde in male workers in Chinese restaurants.
OBJECTIVE
To assess internal dose and oxidative stress in male restaurant workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from cooking oil fumes (COFs) in Chinese restaurants.


METHODS
The study participants included 288 male restaurant workers (171 kitchen and 117 service staff) in Chinese restaurants in Taiwan. Airborne particulate PAHs were measured over 12 h on each of two consecutive work days and then identified using high performance liquid chromatography. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) measurements were used to indicate COF exposure, and urinary malondialdehyde (MDA) was adopted as an oxidative stress marker. Multiple regression models were used to assess the relationship between MDA and 1-OHP levels after adjusting for key personal covariates.


RESULTS
Summed particulate PAH levels in kitchens (median 23.9 ng/m(3)) were significantly higher than those in dining areas (median 4.9 ng/m(3)). For non-smoking kitchen staff, mean MDA and 1-OHP levels were 344.2 (SD 243.7) and 6.0 (SD 8.0) mumol/mol creatinine, respectively. These levels were significantly higher than those for non-smoking service staff, which were 244.2 (SD 164.4) and 2.4 (SD 4.3) mumol/mol creatinine, respectively. Urinary 1-OHP levels were significantly associated with work in kitchens (p<0.05). Furthermore, urinary MDA levels were significantly associated with urinary 1-OHP levels (p<0.001) and working hours per day (p<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that urinary 1-OHP and MDA levels reflect occupational exposure to PAHs from COFs and oxidative stress in workers in Chinese restaurants.
Pan
C-H
CH
Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Rm 722, No 17, Xu-Zhou Road, Taipei 10020, Taiwan.
Chan
C-C
CC
Huang
Y-L
YL
Wu
K-Y
KY
D000328:Adult; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000652:urine*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000032:analysis*; D012147:Restaurants; D012907:Smoking / Q000652:urine; D013624:Taiwan; D055815:Young Adult
D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D015415:Biomarkers; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; D008315:Malondialdehyde; C033146:1-hydroxypyrene